CI: First off, this is a gift for YoungTitan213 who is my birthday buddy! She is an amazing gal with some sweet editing skills!Seriously, if you're on tumblr, go follow her and if you're on YouTube, subscribe to her. She is has some high-quality Korra and Young Justice videos!
Yes, today is my birthday and I'm going to enjoy it by strolling downtown Seattle and eating some delicious Turkey burger at the Fox Sports Grill. I hope you enjoy this, Titan! It's mainly Tahorra, but I added some Borra to ultimately make some awesome Tahorralin! 8D I really hope you like it!
"Tahno, I need you to cover me!" Korra ordered her comrade. Bolin was already engaged with three equalists and Mako and Asami were making their way to one of the last Equalist factories downtown. The plan was relatively easy – Bolin, Tahno, and Korra would start a fight outside the factory while Mako and Asami snuck in, ignited some explosives, and watched the equalist hangout go boom. Lin and Tenzin were flying high in the air, patrolling the area and would warn them if anything unplanned was to occur. Korra had demanded they make sure the place was empty before they started to shoot it up. She didn't want to make them out to be martyrs or victims of Team Avatar's ruthless antics. The non-benders around Republic City needed to see that they were merciful, that they valued the life of all who lived there. Korra had realized a while ago that the solution to this problem was just talking, hashing out a new solution so that both benders and non-benders would feel appreciated and represented, their rights respected.
Too bad Amon had yet to answer her calls to talk.
"A little busy myself, Korra!" Tahno grunted from behind her. Korra spun around to see the ex-bender flipping into the air and kicking an equalist lackey square in the jaw. Landing gracefully on his feet, Tahno whirled around and used the electric glove he had stolen from a previous raid on two approaching equalists, the wild blue lights sharply contrasting with the still black night. Both opponents screamed out and slumped onto the floor moments later.
"You cannot believe how much easier it is to fight when you have one of these," Tahno stated as he rushed over to Korra's side. "Can get five of them down in less than a minute now."
"Just a minute, huh?" Korra smirked as they ran over to fight the coming horde of equalists exiting the factory. "I can have twenty of them down in that amount of time."
"Hmm, you want to make that a bet?" Tahno returned her smirk and Korra almost commented on it. It almost reminded her of the Tahno from a mere three months ago, the one who had the whole city wrapped around his little finger. But she bit her tongue and kept it to herself; she knew (she had been told) that that Tahno was something that this Tahno never wanted to be again.
"Sure!" Korra exclaimed as she shot a rock into one of the equalist's forehead. "Whoever gets the most knockouts out of this round of punks wins! And when I win, you'll be doing all my chores for a month! That includes diaper-changing!"
"Well, that sounds enticing!" Tahno yelled over the sound of the battle: electric rods clanking, footsteps heavy, bodies crashing onto the concrete, electricity crackling and earth flying into the air. Korra was ashamed to admit it now, but this was what she loved. This is what she lived for. To go toe to toe with opponents that were just as determined and just as capable as she. To fight alongside someone who was just as passionate about the adrenaline pumping into their veins, just as unwavering in their want to win and protect the people of this city. It was exhilarating and in this moment, she wouldn't want anyone else by her side than the tall young man behind her.
"So, what do you want if you win, pretty boy?" Korra hollered out to him as she rushed water into several equalists' stomachs, hurling them against the armored vans they usually drove. "By the way, I'm already at thirteen."
"Twelve," Tahno responded in-between swift jabs and kicks. "And I want a date."
Korra almost, almost allowed her fire-filled fist to miss its intended target. If it had been a few months back when Korra was much less disciplined and much more susceptible to loathing Tahno, she would have stopped whatever she was doing, grabbed him by the collar and demand to know what he was playing at. Now though, Tahno was her comrade, her friend. Asami had taught him to fight without his bending, Bolin had taught him to see the brighter side, Mako taught him what it meant to be loyal and dedicated, and Korra…
Korra had given him a chance.
"And I don't mean some little lunch date like Mako and Asami," Tahno continued as the equalists kept coming his way. He jumped up and threw a large bottle of water that had been tucked securely around his waist. The water burst from the bottle and as Tahno descended, he lit up his glove and slammed it against the wet ground. The electricity traveled through the puddle and shocked the ten equalists unfortunate enough to be in its vicinity. They dropped to the ground and Tahno stood up, taking a deep sigh. "I want to dress up, watch a movie, go to a fancy dinner, and make out in the park. And that makes twenty-five."
"Where is this coming from?" Korra tried to change the subject as a sudden heat that was not a consequence of the battle blossomed across her cheeks. There were only about twenty more equalists left and she had only knocked out eighteen! She couldn't go on a date with Tahno. She couldn't do this again, especially when she had realized just a few nights ago that she had feelings for both the young man with the soft skin and warm thin fingers and the strong boy with the kind smile and vivid green eyes. Korra couldn't go on a date with anyone until she finally realized what she wanted. She just got over her infatuation with Mako – she couldn't dive in again and hurt someone else.
Especially not two people so close to her heart.
Actually, Korra thought as she kicked a shot of flames to three approaching goons. Where is Bolin?
Korra drop kicked another equalist before she quickly scanned the vicinity for any sign of the built boy and his usual olive green shirt. Her eyes spotted a scene a few hundred feet away and her stomach collapsed.
Bolin was in a fight with not one, not two, but three mechas that had driven out of the factory. She could tell that Bolin had been in the fight for some time: his movements were slow and he kept looking over his shoulder, expecting the next barrage of wires to come flying towards him. He was completely on the defense, his feet shooting up slabs of earth to protect him from getting caught.
Mako and Asami better blow this place up soon! Korra gritted her teeth as she ran towards Bolin, shoving a pool of water into two awaiting equalists' faces. We can't let them take out those monsters.
"Tahno! We have to help Bolin!" Korra roared to her friend who was still combating several equalists. "He's about to get captured!"
"Coming, princess," Tahno huffed, jumping over one of his opponent's shoulders and sending a small trickle of electricity into his forehead. He dashed towards her with only five or so equalists on his tail. "By the way, I ended up with thirty-three."
"There's no time for that now!" Korra snapped at him. She couldn't concern herself with the thought that crap, she would have to go on a date with Tahno. Even though she could lie and say she knocked out forty but there clearly hadn't been more than sixty of them. Even though she was starting to like him in a genuine, romantic fashion and that the idea of their fingers tangled together, laughing on a bench in the park under a blanket of stars made her heart race in a way that her thoughts of Mako never did. "Bolin's in trouble and all you care about is that you have some stupid date with –"
An excruciating scream, deep and gurgled, ripped into the night and froze Korra in her tracks and thoughts. Her lips parted and her vision sharpened at the sight just a few feet before her.
One of the mecha's black wires had pierced into Bolin's stomach, blood seeping out onto his shirt. The mecha retracted the wire and Bolin fell to his knees, his skin growing paler by the second. He hyperventilated as he moved his hands over his wound, blood pooling out and surrounding him. Cautiously, he looked up to see Korra and his shoulders slacked like he was happy, like he was relieved.
"Korra…" Bolin coughed out, blood spewing from his mouth and dripping off his chin. "You're safe. I'm so…so…"
He fell face first into the concrete, blood splashing against his crumpled form.
The mechas closed in on Bolin, their wires ready to latch on to his leg and drag him to Amon, where he could have his bending removed. Where he would probably die.
"Korra, what are you waiting for!" Tahno's bark, while only inches away from her ears sounded distant, worlds apart from the blood that crept towards her feet, threatening to stain and taint her.
Bolin could die.
A dark thought crawled and lodged into her mind: Bolin might already be dead.
"No…" she whispered as she tried to move towards the boy who always knew what to say, who always smiled at the worst of times, whose green eyes were so warm and bright they could rival the sun. "Bolin…"
"Korra! We have to –" but Tahno was cut off by a bright ice-blue light shooting out of Korra's skin, her body darting up into the air.
"NOOO!"
Korra didn't plan. Korra didn't think. All Korra knew to do was to get to the boy with green eyes and will him back to life. She didn't concern herself with the mechas and their wires. With a powerful gale, two of the mechas flung into the air and crashed into the factory. She didn't concern herself with the equalists that ran back into the factory, foolishly racing towards their doom. They would pay, they would suffer.
The remaining mecha whipped out all of its wires at Korra, circling her arms and legs. The electricity that shot into her body didn't faze or pain her. This mecha had been the one that shot the wire into Bolin. The pawn inside would know misery like she did. He would bend and break and die like he had wanted Bolin to.
With a ferocious shout, Korra pulled at the wires and lifted the mecha off the ground. She flew into the air, past the barely registered protests of the floating Tenzin and Lin, past the city lights and into the thick warm wind of approaching spring. With her newfound strength, Korra bellowed deep from the pit of her stomach and whipped the mecha back to the ground. She watched as it smashed into a collection of armored vans. Watched as equalists panicked and ran past the factory and into the sewers. They wanted the wrath of the Avatar, did they? Amon wanted to see the monster the Spirits could create, did he?
"Here I am, Amon!" Korra's voice echoed far into the night, traveling past downtown and towards her nemesis, her prey. "Is this what you wanted? You'll pay for what you've done to this city, to the balance of this world, to Bolin! You. Will. Pay!"
Korra was about to fly towards the mecha and tear apart the cowardly equalist sheltered by the constructed platinum when she heard a sharp, familiar voice slice into the violent noise buzzing in her head.
"Korra, don't be an idiot!" Tahno's voice was hoarse and strained, as though he was using every nerve in his body to acquire Korra's attention. "Don't let Amon win! This is what he wants! He wants everyone to see you like this. This isn't you, Korra!"
Korra's white eyes narrowed at the young man below her. His whole body shook, his arm outstretched towards her. He was scared.
As he should be.
"I am the Avatar!" Korra spat at Tahno. "And I will see to it, one way or another, that balance is restored!"
"Korra, calm down, please!" she faintly heard Tenzin from above. "If you lose what little control you have, the whole city is in danger!"
"Korra!" the weak calls from Mako and Asami dimly resonated around the neon blue sphere encasing her. "Please, come down. We need you to help Bo –"
"Idiots!" Korra screamed at them. "You didn't blow up the factory? That was your only job!"
"No, Korra!" Asami's eyes widened and she raised her hands in protest. "No, Korra don't! There could still be people inside!"
"Korra!" Mako shouted out. He was kneeling beside Bolin, tears streaming down his face. "Please, forget about that! Bolin needs your help!"
"Weak!" Korra growled as she shot a massive fireball towards the factory. "You're all weak!"
The factory exploded, debris flying into the black sky. Smoke swirled near her direction but it couldn't enter the sphere of her power, where she was immortal, where she was divine.
Where she was a god.
She turned her attention to the mecha she had slammed into the vans and a wild leer plastered itself onto her lips. The driver was trying to escape, his hands and feet clumsily sliding down the demolished platinum.
He would pay. She would have her revenge.
But before she could pursue her prey, a pair of arms wrapped tight around her waist and a pair of legs buckled against her shins.
"Korra, you are scaring the utter shit out of me!" a hot growl voiced its frustrations behind her back. "If you don't stop this instant, you are going to regret this moment for the rest of your life!"
Korra turned her head and noticed Tenzin was now below her, his glider at his side. He must have used his gift of flight to hurl Tahno towards her and stop her from killing the poor fool who was now descending into one of the underground tunnels.
"You're letting him get away!" Korra sneered at the young man. "You're letting the coward who –"
"Bolin is still alive!" Tahno pleaded with her, his grip on her waist becoming as tight as it possibly could be. Korra's eyes widened and her body tensed at his words. "Bolin's not dead, Korra! Don't give up on him yet! He needs you!"
"Bolin is still…" the sphere around them began to vanish and Korra's skin lost its ethereal blue glow. "Bolin is alive.
"Bolin is alive!"
Korra felt the remains of the Avatar State drift away as she glided towards her friends and to the boy drenched in blood. When they landed, Tahno released his hold on her waist and Korra rushed towards her fellow comrades.
"Bolin!" Korra slid onto the ground and she pulled Bolin's body away from Mako's lap and into her own. He was sweating up a storm and his skin was so pale…
"There isn't much time!" Korra's voice shook with nervous adrenaline. She had wasted so much time in the Avatar State. She couldn't even dwell on the fact that that was the first time she had achieved it; she had almost been consumed by the raw power; she had almost forgotten what set her off into that state in the first place. "We need water!"
"I got some right here!" Tahno said, shoving an opened bottle into her hands.
Korra focused and twirled the water above her hands. It glowed a warm blue, contrasting the cold ice blue that had enveloped her skin a few minutes prior. She pressed the water against Bolin's open wound, blood caked around his taunt skin. The turmoil Bolin was in nauseated Korra. She felt it with every wheeze and labored breath. The internal bleeding had stopped and she turned her attention to repair the walls around his organs and intestines. It didn't help that the smoke from the factory explosion was drifting all around them, making it harder for the healing to be fully effective. He had lost so much blood…it shouldn't have been this hard in the first place. If she had just listened to Tahno…
"It's okay, Korra," Tahno knelt beside her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You got this."
Korra nodded her head and focused on Bolin's face: his full lips, his thick brows, his button nose. She needed to see that face light up again. She needed to see her friends happy and lighthearted again. This was her mistake; she had to fix it.
"Bolin, please…" Tears began to slip across her cheeks and drip onto Bolin's shirt. "Please, Bolin. It'll be okay. It'll be okay…"
"Bo…" Mako's voice cracked as he swept his fingers over his brother's dark hair. "Bolin, wake up. Please. For us."
Just then, a small cough escaped his mouth and the group of them jumped at the unexpected sound. Two green slits opened and made their way to meet Korra's blue eyes. The faintest of smiles found itself on Bolin's lips and Korra beamed at its simple beauty.
"You're alright," Bolin whispered, stretching out his hand towards her face. "I'm so glad."
"No," Korra whispered back. "I'm only alright if you're okay Bolin. Let's get you back to the island for some rest, okay?"
Bolin nodded his head and slipped back into peaceful slumber as Korra continued to make leeway into repairing his internals.
"You got this, Uh-vatar," Tahno continued to encourage her as they made their way to the island, towards a bed for Bolin and a chair where Korra would spend the next five days seated. "You got this."
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"How's he doing?" Korra turned her head to see Tahno leaning against the doorframe, his gaze fixed on the boy resting in the bed.
"Fine at the moment," Korra responded, beckoning him to take the seat next to hers. "He was actually awake a little while ago. You just missed him."
"Ah, that's a shame," Tahno sighed as he sat down. "I was looking forward to talking to him again. He always has a way of making me laugh."
"Um, hello! Pretty boy!" Korra scoffed and rolled her eyes. "He's the one who needs to laugh! You should be coming up with some jokes or stories to entertain him!"
Tahno chuckled and gave Korra a lighthearted grin. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
They sat in silence for a few minutes and Korra went through the events of the last several days in her mind. She stood in Bolin's room for two days straight, barely eating or sleeping. All her attention was on his injuries, his food intake, his rest. After the selfish rage she had thrown herself in, she didn't deserve the sleep, the food, or the praise from her friends. She was ashamed of what she had done. How could she ever face non-benders now when, with the flip of a switch, she could destroy anything in her sight?
"Korra," her thoughts were interrupted by the warmth of Tahno's hand pressed against her knee, his face solemn. "How are you doing?"
"Oh? Me?" I'm –" she cut herself off and noticed Tahno's eyes narrow at her response. He knew her better by now. He wasn't going to buy her fizzled bottle of cheap cheer. Not today.
"Not fine," Korra finished. "I'm not fine at all."
"Go on," Tahno squeezed her knee gently. "I'm here to hear you out."
"It's just that," Korra felt the tears already threatening to spill, her heart crunching against her ribcage. She didn't want to cry; she couldn't cry after all the crap she put her friends in over the last few weeks. "Aang was this amazing Avatar! He defeated a whole nation by the time he was twelve years old. And Roku and Kyoshi were also really great. They accomplished so much in their lives and look at me! I can barely help this city get back on its feet and restore it to the way it was before. What if this gets bigger than the city? What if equalists start to spread across the world? What if there's a war? I can't handle that! I would be so afraid of meeting everyone's expectations. I would be so afraid of letting you guys fight. You're all so important to me. My closest friends. What if I can't contain myself if something terrible happens to you or Asami or Mako or Tenzin or Bolin again? What if no one is able to stop me? What if –"
Korra was cut off again but this time, Tahno's lithe arms took her into his chest, wrapping around and stroking her back.
"Korra, you don't need to think like that right now," Tahno tried to reassure her.
"What do you mean I shouldn't be thinking like that?" Korra hissed into him. "I have to think like that! I'm the Avatar. I have to think about the worst-case scenario and prepare for it. I can't just sit around here and do nothing!"
"What do you mean you're doing nothing?" Tahno placed both of his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back just enough so he could meet her gaze. "Korra, you saved Bolin's life! That's not anything! You helped Asami feel like she has a family again! You restored Mako's trust in himself! And you…you helped me realize that I didn't want to be who I was anymore. If that's not a great Avatar, I don't know what is."
The intensity of Tahno's stare made Korra overtly aware of the bed inches from them, with the boy she saved and liked inside it. And it made her that much more aware of the feelings she had for Tahno and how much she liked the man he had become.
Wait… Korra thought, I…I did that. I helped Tahno. I helped Asami and Mako. I helped Bolin.
She had saved each and every one of them during their darkest times; she had helped countless others throughout the city during any one of the many equalists' raids. Korra was trying to find a way for both non-benders and benders to feel respected and represented while still fighting off the man who wanted to oppress so many.
She was trying and that was all that was needed from her.
"I can't believe I'm about to say this," Korra smiled, a few tears falling across her cheeks. "But you're right Tahno."
Tahno blinked a few times before responding, "I'm sorry?"
"Do I really have to say it again? You're right!" Korra laughed. "I'm doing my best right now and that's all that matters. I'll get Amon and I'll make sure Republic City remains a place where all people can live in balance!"
"Huh," Tahno pulled back a little more, his hands still remaining on her shoulders. "I didn't actually think this would work."
"What would work?" Korra quirked an eyebrow.
"This…being nice and supportive," he said. "I'll need to do it more often if it gets you to smile like that."
Korra shouldn't have blushed at such an innocent remark, but she did anyway. Tahno was becoming something she was unaccustomed to. Something that made her heart squirm and her breath hitch. It was all the more confusing that Bolin had the power to do the same thing.
"So, I was wondering," Tahno started as he unexpectedly closed in on her, a playful smirk gracing his lips, "about that date…."
"Date?" Korra began, stiffening underneath his touch. Crap, he had won that stupid bet they had made before Bolin's injury. She had completely forgotten about it!
"Yes, Uh-vatar," he almost purred as he inched closer to her face, his grey eyes mischievous, "Our date."
"Um, well," Korra shifted her eyes towards the ceiling, unsure of how to handle the situation. "We can't go on a date anytime soon! Amon is going to want to challenge me soon and we still have to find Hiroshi and Bolin still needs to make a complete recovery and – "
She was cut off for the third time as one of Tahno's fingers brushed over her lips. "Don't worry, Korra. I have nothing but time for you."
He moved in closer and closer, his lips parting, Korra wriggling against his touch, hypnotized by his eyes–
A loud cough caused them both to jump and whirl around to meet the noise. Bolin's eyes were still closed but he was clearly awake. He bent over and continued to cough, the sound painful to listen to. Korra rushed to the bedside table, grabbed the glass of water left for him, and handed it to Bolin.
"Here, Bo," Korra whispered. "Does it hurt anywhere?"
Bolin gulped down the rest of the water and handed the empty glass back to Korra. He fluttered his green eyes opened and shook his head. "No, just a little bit of phlegm. Nothing to worry about."
He was about to say something else when he noticed the other person in the room. He smiled brightly and his green eyes reverted back to their typical, cheerful sheen "Hey Tahno! Long time no see! How's it going, buddy?"
"Great, Bolin," Tahno grinned back at his friend. "You feeling any better? We've all been pretty worried about you."
"Yeah, I'm doing a lot better with Korra by my side," he pumped his fist into the air and gave Korra another wide smile. "I should be up and running in a few days!"
"Well, only if you take it easy," Korra wagged her finger at him jokingly. "Or else!"
"Okay, okay," Bolin waved one of his arms to appease her request. "Whatever you want. I'm your humble patient.
"So, what have I missed out there, Tahno? Korra's just out of the loop as I am."
"Ah," Tahno crossed his arms and grinned. "Well, when concerning are little team, did you two know Asami snuck Jinora outside of the Island a few nights ago to rendezvous with a homeless boy she met downtown? His name was…Skoochy, was it?"
"Skoochy?"
For the rest of the afternoon, the three friends gossiped and entertained each other, just happy to be alive. Korra would worry about her feelings for the two young men and the inevitable choice she would have to make later. Right here, right now, she wasn't just the Avatar. She was Korra.
And she thanked the spirits above she had such a wonderful group of friends in her life.
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Once again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TITAN! I really hope you have a wonderful birthday and really hoped you enjoyed this little fic!